Qatar Airways' says global operations running smoothly

Qatar Airways' operations to and from its Doha hub are running smoothly, with the vast majority of flights operating as scheduled.

In the past week, the award-winning global airline has flown approximately 1,200 flights between Doha and its network of more than 150 destinations around the globe, with 90 per cent of those flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time.

In the coming months, the airline said its network will continue to grow.

Yesterday, the airline launched direct service to Dublin, Republic of Ireland. Qatar Airways' service to Nice, France, will commence on 4 July, and flights to Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on 17 July. Other new destinations planned for the remainder of this year and 2018 include Las Vegas (USA), Canberra (Australia), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon), Medan (Indonesia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Santiago (Chile) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), as well as many others.

Earlier this week the airline released its annual report for the fiscal year 2017, revealing a net profit of $541 million, a 21.7 per cent year-on-year increase. The results also show an annual revenue increase of 10.4 per cent.

Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways’ global operations continue to run smoothly, with the vast majority of our network unaffected by the current circumstances. Our focus is on supporting any passengers impacted by the current situation and ensuring that we continue to deliver our award-winning service. Our network expansion continues with two new destinations launching in the next month. As far as we are concerned, it is business as usual.”

He added: “This blockade unprecedented, and it is in direct contradiction to the convention that guarantees rights to civil overflight. We call upon the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to declare this an illegal act. We are not a political body, we are an airline, and this blockade has stripped us of the rights which are guaranteed to us.”

Dubai International (DXB) has registered yet another month of record passenger traffic with 8.2 million passengers welcomed in August, according to the monthly traffic report issued today by operator Dubai Airports.